Oklahoma state law expressly preempts any regulation promulgated to control
smoking in public places and to standardize laws that governmental subdivisions
may adopt to control smoking. Oklahoma state law prohibits smoking in some indoor
workplaces, with exceptions for private offices, separately ventilated smoking
rooms, and owner-occupied workplaces not open to the public. Restaurants may
have smoking and nonsmoking sections, if they have separately ventilated smoking
rooms. Bars are exempt. Smoking is prohibited in other public places. Read
more about current tobacco-related legislation in Oklahoma.

Rich
Gililand, a musician from Tulsa, Oklahoma wants his workplaces to be 100% smokefree.
Musicians and venue owners across Oklahoma have joined together and formed a
statewide movement called Breathe
the Music.

The ban applies to cigarettes, cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco and a
broad range of ... Some 83 percent of Oklahoma schools already have
banned tobacco. ... According to Fallin, 7,500 Oklahomans die each year
from smoking, and tobacco ..

With the Tahlequah City Councils adoption of an anti-tobacco advertising
policy on Monday, the lull between Cherokee County Tobacco Control/Communities
of Excellence and the smoking/vaping coterie broke into open social
media warfare this week. The measure passed by the council is a policy
carrying no legal force or penalties, but some citizens particularly
those who use electronic smoking devices judge it as another sortie
by CCTC/CE against personal choice.

Theres a new smoking ban in Claremont, Okla. as earlier this week the
city council voted 6-3 in favor of banning the use of all tobacco products,
e-cigarettes and vapor devices on city-owned and operated land, which
includes parks, playgrounds and golf courses. The ban does not extend
to city streets and sidewalks and does not include any fines for violators.
The ordinance simply directs law enforcement to issue a warning.

Youth across the nation will band together March 18 to raise awareness
about Kick Butts Day in an effort to end youth tobacco use. Organized
by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Kick Butts Day is a day of activism
that empowers young Americans to stand out, speak up and seize control
from big tobacco.

Councilors snuffed out efforts to ban the use of electronic cigarettes
and other ... to amend an ordinance passed in October that bans smoking
on city property. ... the ban for tobacco products, but they balked
when it came to banning the use of ...

A tougher response to tobacco use on city property is expected to be
considered at a future meeting of the Alva City Council. The existing
resolution did not address some products, including electronic cigarettes,
and was more of a policy, Dunham said. He noted an ordinance would be
...

...effort started in Oklahoma hopes to change that by encouraging bars
and clubs in Oklahoma to go smokefree - voluntarily. Free the Night
officially launched in April. The campaign's efforts are financed by
money from the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust...

This Nov. 20, area smokers are urged to quit for a day, quit for life
and celebrate the Great American Smokeout alongside the Oklahoma Tobacco
Helpline and Cherokee County Communities of Excellence Tobacco Control
Coalition.

_All tobacco products will soon be banned on Lawton city property, including
its ... Tuesday night, the council approved the ordinance, which expands
the ban from ... She agrees no one likes smoking, she's smoked her whole
life and doesn't like it. ... The ordinance banning all tobacco, lit
and unlit, will take place in 29 days.

The presence of smoking and tobacco litter at parks bothers me for several
reasons. First, there is no safe level of secondhand smoke exposure;
also, secondhand smoke exposure can have immediate health consequences
on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. According to Repace Associates,
secondhand smoke levels in outdoor public places can reach levels as
high as those found in indoor facilities where smoking is permitted.
Parks are established to promote an active lifestyle and community wellness
tobacco use is not consistent with this goal. So, allowing it in parks
does not set a standard of health for our children.

... case in a decade-old dispute regarding nation-to-nation tribal
cigarette sales. ... on cigarettes purchased and sales taxes on cigarettes
purchased on tribal land by ... several states and the tobacco companies
over Medicaid costs in 1998the ... than $47 million in gross proceeds
received for the sale of Seneca cigarettes ...

Members of the Alcoholic Beverage Law Enforcement Commission hear a
presentation Friday on the agencys preparation for enforcing a new law
governing vapor products. SB1602 passed by the legislature and signed
into law places the products under the Youth Access to Tobacco Act for
which ABLE is the lead law enforcement ...

The board took it a step further to ban all tobacco products from city
buildings. ... by the City of Salina or by the Salina Public Works Authority
is hereby banned. ... As with most cities enacting a smoking ban
ordinance, the protocol is left up to ...

The Second Circuit affirmed: It is well-settled that claims by
an Indian tribe alleging ..... Oklahoma's Complementary Act, a law that
required cigarette manufacturers who ... sales to the Muskogee Creek
Nation of Oklahoma, which resold cigarettes to ... which provides that
[n] o money accruing from any lease or sale of lands .

Here are a couple of health tips from the OSU Wellness Center, the first
concerns secondhand smoke. The heart and blood vessels are extremely
sensitive to toxic chemicals in secondhand smoke. According to some
studies, secondhand smoke can increase the ...

It can kill you child with just a sip. Doctors are warning parents about
their liquid e-cigarette refills, which can vary in the amount of nicotine
inside. "It's just as deadly as a gun, it's just as deadly as any
other chemical you have in your house," said OU Children's ER physician
Dr. Ryan Brown. The e-cigarette, or vaping, industry is booming in Oklahoma,
even more than in other states. "Oklahoma is at the forefront of
the vaping industry," said Chairman of the Oklahoma Vapor Advocacy
League Sean Gore.

... dance hall, 7901 E. 41st St., plans to ban smoking at Caravan starting
this weekend. ... He said a new large, well-lit area outside will be
designated for smokers, and more ... on the Oklahoma Legislature to
make a move and expand smoking bans. Eventually the pros outweighed
the cons, and with inaction on smoking ...

As of Nov. 1, it will be illegal to sell electronic cigarettes or similar
"vaping" products to anyone under age 18 in the state. Electronic
cigarettes are a new fad. They use batteries to heat a liquid that typically
includes nicotine for inhaling. Users get the rush of a cigarette without
the tar or carbon monoxide.

Nick Whitson, who is 32 and covered with enigmatic tattoos the number
13, an upside-down cross stood in front of a table scattered with dozens
of bottles of colorful liquids and a handful of syringes, preparing
to mix Trevor Curren his usual. What has made Oklahoma a vaping hub
is a heavy concentration of smokers, many desperate to quit, who are
creating both demand and supply. Converts to e-cigarettes are taking
advantage of the relatively low cost of starting a business to become
zealous sellers.

ENID, Okla. In the coming weeks, Enid City Commission could vote to
ban smoking in public parks. Benson said he would include an ordinance
on a future agenda. Ward 5 Commissioner Tammy Wilson asked that it also
include a prohibition on the use of so-called vapor or e-cigarettes.

Passed a resolution that allows the use of e-cigarette vapor devices
outdoors on city property, except at Abe Raizin Park, where vapers will
be required to be in designated smoking areas to inhale their various
flavored vapors. Because vapers typically are ex-smokers who use the
vapor devices to replace tobacco, they preferred not to be assigned
to a smoking area, but they succeeded in heading off a total ban on
outdoor vaping in city parks. The resolution prohibits indoor vaping
on city property and within 25-feet of a door to city property. The
resolution was opposed only by Councilman Ricky Mayes who said vaping
sets a bad example for youths and can be used for illegal marijuana
use.

The Dewey City council approved a change to city ordinances Monday evening
that affects smokers of e-cigarettes. After hearing and approving an
extension appeal for dilapidation consideration from Larry Kerns, the
city approved a change to city ordinances regarding tobacco use in city
buildings, vehicles, and parks. The change adds e-cigarettes to the
ordinance, banning their use in those spaces. City Manager Kevin Trease
says this move is in line with what the state has done.

DUNCAN The Duncan City Council today will consider a resolution to allow
the use of electronic vapor devices outdoors on city-owned property,
except for Abe Raizen Sports Complex. If the resolution is approved,
it would prohibit the indoor use of e-cigarettes indoors on city-owned
property. A proposal two weeks ago to amend the citys smoking resolution
was to prohibit the vaping on city property, both indoors and outdoors,
but the council agreed to reconsider after the head of the Oklahoma
Vapor Advocacy League asked them to rethink the ban.

Students at Takini School in Howes joined thousands across the country
to fight tobacco use for Kick Butts Day March 19. The teens hosted skits
identifying the dangers of tobacco use. But for many of those participating,
they were doing more than telling others not to tackle a dangerous habit.
They were discussing how to avoid an addiction they themselves had developed
at very young ages.

BROKEN ARROW, Oklahoma - Broken Arrow parks could be tobacco free by
the end of summer. Esmond said the city has yet to decide if that ban
will include electronic cigarettes.
He said they simply need to do more research.

In Duncan a few weeks ago, the City Council considered regulating vaping,
sometimes known as e-cigarettes, just as they did tobacco smoking, by
prohibitings its use in or on city-owned property -- including parks.
There were a few complaints at the local senior citizens center about
people vaping too close to the front door. The council postponed making
a decision after the whole vaping phenomenon was explained to them by
Sean Gore, chairman and president of the Oklahoma Vapor Advocacy League,
the first such organization in the United States. It mimics smoking,
it looks like smoking, but its not smoking, Gore said.

I cannot see the reasoning for banning outdoor smoking, other than to
appease the ... I have noticed that there are places who ban the use
of these and I will not utilize their services. ... Smoking is already
banned indoors, not outside as well.

Several Green Country cities are banning e-cigarettes on public property.
... some of the Green Country cities that have banned e-cigarettes on
city property. ... Some say that money is why both Tahlequah and Skiatook
passed these bans. ... "Vaping does not have the secondhand smoke
like smoking does, so I don't see ...

A mom says her 4-year-old son got terribly sick after drinking some
of the liquid nicotine used to refill her e-cigarettes. The number of
kids getting their hands on liquid nicotine used to refill e-cigarettes
and being rushed to the emergency room grows each year. Ren Gaulrapp's
son was one of them. "We hear a little noise, come in and he has
taken the lid off of all of them and has this liquid everywhere,"
she said. "He's got it all over him. He`s been eating it. The liquid
itself is very sweet. There`s not really anything in it in the lower
nicotine levels that are going to discourage a child from wanting to
play in them." He vomited all day and then suffered painful withdrawal
symptoms. But doctors said he was lucky Gaulrapp's e-liquid had low
nicotine level

A new danger related to e-cigarettes is being felt all over Oklahoma.
It's related to the liquid form of nicotine e-cigarettes use. Oklahoma
Poison Center Director Scott Schaffer said the liquid nicotine people
buy in refill bottles at vape stores can be very dangerous. He said
in the past year, his call center has received 27 calls from people
who were exposed to liquid nicotine. Twenty-four of those cases involved
young children.

Among e-cigarettes and vapor products, the chemical and nicotine content
vary greatly. These unregulated products may provide uncontrolled doses
of harmful ... If you are around somebody who is using e-cigarettes,
you are breathing an aerosol of exhaled nicotine, ultra-fine particles,
volatile organic compounds, and other toxins. Dr. Stanton Glantz, Director
for the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University
of California, San Francisco. At least 10 chemicals identified in e-cigarette
aerosol are on Californias Proposition 65 list of carcinogens and reproductive
toxins, also known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement
Act of 1986. The compounds that have already been identified in mainstream
or secondhand e-cigarette aerosol include: Acetaldehyde (MS), Benzene
(SS), Cadmium (MS), Formaldehyde (MS, SS), Isoprene (SS), Nickel (MS),
Nicotine (MS, SS), N-Nitrosonornicotine (MS, SS), Toluene (MS, SS).
Terry Cline, Oklahoma Health Secretary, disagrees, saying e-cigarettes
are not marked as cessation products and should not be treated as such
until further study can be done. Cline added secondhand smoke from e-cigarettes
can, in fact, be harmful. It is a myth that the vapor is on a water
vapor. ...

For example, in the 1990's, State Attorneys General sued the major cigarette
... underage tobacco use by discouraging such use and by preventing
youth access to ... to the prevention of sales of cigarettes and other
tobacco products to minors.

The Tahlequah City Council discussed a ban ordinance on Monday (March
3), but ... Action League (OVAL) said, Lumping e-cigarettes in
with smoking would be a ... Gore has guided efforts to oppose e-cigarette
bans throughout the Sooner State. ... an executive order banning personal
use of e-cigarettes on state property.

... Two bills would place some regulation of e-cig sales within the
same broad title of state law as tobacco products, while fashioning
regulatory limitations and some protections for the devices. Either
of those could represent a slowing of the anti-e-cigarette juggernaut
in Oklahoma over the past year, financed in large part by a state government
agency.

STILLWATER, Okla. Several initiatives in recent years add to Stillwater's
growing reputation as a city of health and wellness. Many years ago,
Oklahoma State University became a tobacco-free school, and its Breathe
Easy program for smoking cessation continues to be one of the most successful
programs at a university striving to be America's healthiest campus
Is it time for the state to enact a law banning smoking, including e-cigs,
from bars and restaurants?

Two of the bills would place some regulation of e-cig sales within the
same broad title of state law as tobacco products, while fashioning
regulatory limitations and some protections for the devices. Either
of those could represent a slowing of the anti-e-cigarette juggernaut
in Oklahoma over the past year, financed in large part by a state government
agency. Most notable of the pending bills, perhaps, is House Bill 3104,
by state Reps. Mike Jackson, R-Enid, and Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City,
which would ban youth sales of vapor products which may or may not contain
nicotine. Jackson is speaker pro tem for the Republican majority in
the House.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Mistic vapors will be sold at Wal-marts throughout the
country later this year. But right now Oklahoma gets the vapes first,
and the vapor community is not surprised. Vape shops are the primary
locations to buy exactly what they're named after, E-cigarettes and
vapors.

The cigarette lobbyists now flooding the Oklahoma Capitol will argue
that no one has proven e-cigarettes are dangerous. The problem is that
no one has proven them safe, either, and that should be reason enough
to restrict their sale and marketing in the same way we restrict tobacco
products.

Britnie Brock thought she had come up with a great plan: the business
model of an e-cigarette store combined with the convenience of a snowcone
shack. But that competition isn't the only issue facing e-cigarette
proprietors. Proposed legislation removing the access of minors to the
product which most businesses are in favor of as well as how the product
is taxed are set to be heard next month.

Oklahoma Citys KFOR NewsChannel 4 carried this report on the Jan. 21
joint hearing of the Oklahoma Senate Committee on Health and Human Services
and the Oklahoma House Committee on Public Health on e-cigarettes and
the value of tobacco harm reduction. The included a snippet of the testimony
offered by R Street Senior Fellow Dr. Joel Nitzkin. If we are going
to do better in terms of reducing illness, death and addiction from
cigarettes and other nicotine products, we need a fundamentally new
approach, Nitzkin told the study group.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A joint House and Senate hearing on the use of
electronic cigarettes and vapor devices is scheduled at the state Capitol.
Members of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services and the
House Committee on Public Health will meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday in the
Senate chamber.

OKLAHOMA CITY - In a short time, electronic cigarettes and vaporizers
have grown from a curiosity into a $1.7 billion-a-year industry in the
U.S. As vape shops spread across the metro, 33 now operate within Oklahoma
City limits. Many Oklahomans are concerned about possible health risks.

Oklahoma has seen a decrease in the number of residents developing lung
cancer, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis
released today. The state saw the largest decrease among men and women
who were 55 to 64 years old.

In 2012, the governor's office began renegotiating compacts with all
the tribes. Some agreed to unusual stipulations, such as agreeing to
a smoke-free casino, to receive a better rate. Michael McNutt, a spokesman
for Gov. Mary Fallin, said final details of what the Comanche Nation
will do in return for the rate provided are still being worked out.
...

The new e-cig ban in Oklahoma hasn't slowed down business in Texas.
There are some customers concerned about it mostly our customers that
come in that are state employees are concerned about it because that
means they can't use it in places that they frequent, says Stogies Sales
Associate Mike Lewis. ...

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has issued an order banning the use of
... looks like smoke creating confusion and making it a challenge to
enforce certain bans. ... Oklahoma joins the Fort Smith Public Libraries
which voted in October to ban ...

No signs were carried, no bras were burned and no paint was thrown on
clothing. But in terms of protest, 23 people spoke with one voice against
a recent executive order by Gov. Mary Fallin that banned the use of
e-cigarettes and vapor smoking devices on state property. The order
took effect Wednesday.

The Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) is cajoling and
pressuring local communities into equating e-cigarettes and similar
products (personal vaporizers as fans call them) with tobacco. Maybe
I should have figured out what TSET was up to when Jonathan Small, policy
vice president for the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, said TSETs
recent actions demonizing and profiling e-cigarettes are yet more evidence
of the need for strict oversight and a complete overhaul of TSET and
its activities. TSET should be about real and lasting solutions for
health care, not the selective discriminatory efforts of biased bureaucrats.

The allure of big grants through a community health program motivated
several cities recently to ban electronic cigarettes from city-owned
properties. Ada and Shawnee narrowly passed measures despite opposition
from community members, e-cigarette users and vapor shop owners. Tahlequah
attempted to pass a ban, but tabled the issue. Oklahoma City is now
cautiously considering a ban.

The Student Government Association met Wednesday evening with a heavy
plate of topics to discuss first of which was the banning of electronic
cigarettes on campus. After one month in Stillwater, Oklahoma State
Universitys chief of wellness officer is wasting no time in continuing
to keep campus healthy.

And in England, they are faced with the same question: Should restaurants
allow e-cigarettes? Though there is no real smoke, the Daily Mail reports
that some diners are being put off by the odorless vapor given off by
the electronic version.

Smoking soon could be banned indoors and outdoors at all city-owned
and -operated property in Bixby. Grant money from the program can be
used for any healthy initiative. This year, the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement
Endowment Trust approved grants to 21 communities totaling $191,000.

Sand Springs city leaders gathered Friday as the first Tobacco Free
sign was installed. City councilors made the decision about a year ago
when a measure was approved to ban tobacco products from all properties
owned, leased or managed by the parks system.

...Michael Siegel, who supports vaping as a harm-reducing alternative
to smoking, notes that "we actually have a much better idea what
is in electronic cigarette vapor than what is in tobacco smoke."
As a result, Sullum wrote, imposing these regulations ...

ADA, Okla. (AP) Ada is banning electronic cigarettes from public property
beginning Nov. 20 after the city council narrowly amended its tobacco
ordinance. Elsewhere in the state, Oklahoma State University officials
delayed a proposal to ban e-cigarettes on campus last week. An e-cigarette
ban already is in place at ...

OKLAHOMA CITY The city of Ada really has it out for smokers, even those
who choose to go smokeless with e-cigarettes. After receiving assurances
that a measure on Monday's meeting of the City Council would be an age
restriction that extended to electronic cigarettes, defenders ...

E-cigarettes are legal and growing in popularity, and they need to be
regulated. For a variety of reasons, Tulsa smokers are turning to the
"vapor" electronic cigarettes, which give them the nicotine
they crave and the physical sensation of inhaling without cigarettes,
their smoke, their carbon dioxide or their tar. The battery-operated
devices convert liquid nicotine into an inhalable mist.

LAWTON Okla_ Electronic cigarettes have become popular among people
trying to cut back on smoking or to quit altogether, but recently some
businesses in Oklahoma City have started banning e-cigarettes. Oklahoma
State University is considering it, too. That trend has made it to Southwest
Oklahoma and even to Cameron University. Cameron University has temporarily
banned the use of e-cigarettes in all buildings on campus, but they
can be used outside. Cameron said they want to do more research about
e-cigs before they decide whether this ban will be permanent.

STILLWATER (AP) Oklahoma State University plans to ask its governing
board to ban the use of electronic cigarettes on campus. The proposal
is set to go before the Board of Regents for Oklahoma State University
and the A&M Colleges at a meeting Friday. In 2007, the university
banned the use of all tobacco on campus, but the prohibition didn't
extend to e-cigarettes, which resemble traditional cigarettes but emit
vapor instead of smoke.

The city of Ada really has it out for smokers, even those who choose
to go smokeless with e-cigarettes. The Ada City Council has banned the
use of tobacco products on public property that includes a surprising
prohibition on electronic cigarettes.

A 4-3 vote Monday set the stage to ban any tobacco products in buildings
or on property owned or operated by the City of Shawnee including the
citys parks, Heart of Oklahoma Exposition Center and the Shawnee Twin
Lakes. The ban and associated ordinance, which also covers electronic
cigarettes and similar devices, was introduced to the commission for
two reasons.

Carolyn Yocham, left, stocks up on cigarettes at the Briggs Tobacco
Outlet in Briggs, ... However, the state wants all tobacco retailers
to pay the same tax rate. ... the state is pushing to raise taxes to
$1.03 per pack of cigarettes on tribal sales.

In just three years, the e-cigarette industry has lit up in Tulsa, with
dozens of retailers fighting it out in the emerging market. At least
25 dedicated electronic cigarette and vapor retailers have opened shop
in the Tulsa area, more than much bigger m

Jacob Reid smokes an e-cigarette while working at his Tulsa Vapor store
in Tulsa. ... Tulsa Promenade mall advertising vapor electronic
cigarettes, a relatively new ... The average pack of cigarettes in Oklahoma
costs $5.38, according to the U.S. .... NOT tobacco) is also customizable,
and is not even required to be present.

It's surprising and disappointing that Gov. Mary Fallin has delayed
action on an initiative petition to tighten state smoking regulations.
In February, a Senate committee effectively killed a Fallin-backed bill
until 2015 that would have allowed local governments to pass smoking
ordinances that are stricter than state law. The governor jumped out
front, held a press conference with a big crowd of health officials
and said she would lead a campaign to take the issue to the people.
The vast majority of Okla- homans want local government control on smoking
regulation, Fallin said. She was right.

A popular electronic cigarette store is bringing new clientele to a
burger joint next door. In response, the owners of Fat Guys in south
Tulsa have now altered the traditional no smoking signs to include e-cigarettes.
"We'd rather err on the side of caution than have cigarette smoke
years down the road and say' oh yea they were exhaling obnoxious chemicals
the whole time,' " said Cline. "Nobody knows what's in that
vapor when it's exhaled and it's our concern image wise because you
don't know if someone's smoking or it's an e-cigarette," said Cline.

The tribes will receive 94 percent of the tax revenue from tobacco ...
the compact taxes assessed by the tribal retail outlets and turn that
money in to the ... million packs of cigarettes in 2011 at its 14 northern
Oklahoma smoke shops.

KAW CITY, Okla. - Americans for Nonsmokers Rights recently awarded the
SouthWind Casino Kaw City for going smoke-free along with the Kaw Nation
and Kaw Enterprise Authority for their leadership in supporting this
smoke-free property. The award was presented during the annual Oklahoma
Indian Gaming Association expo held at the Cox Center in Oklahoma City
last week.

War veterans are up in arms over a new Oklahoma law that goes into effect
later this year. The new legislation would ban them from smoking inside
veterans administration homes. They didnt mind us getting involved with
their country, giving what we could, but they dont want to turn around
and help us, said veteran Marvin Jameson.

I covered a story last week describing the tobacco restriction pleas
of three Chickasha women ... I was positive all would admire the efforts
these ladies put forth ... Comments, one by one, questioning the lives
and time management of the women began rol

Three lawmakers are renewing the fight over an issue that lit up the
state House last year - electronic cigarettes. Currently, state law
doesn't adequately address sales of e-cigarettes to minors, and "youth
access is definitely something we need to address," Jackson said.

The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said
Thursday that tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death
in Oklahoma and nationwide, even with the number of smokers rapidly
declining. Mary Fallin endorsed a plan for a statewide vote next year
on tighter smoking restrictions, including efforts to reduce exposure
to secondhand smoke, after a ...

The last refuge for smokers at Will Rogers World Airport  a musty,
windowless room with yellowed walls off the main terminal  is
set to close in September. The Oklahoma City Airport Trust voted unanimously
last week to shut down the smoking room at ...

SouthWind Casino Kaw City celebrated its grand opening on Friday, 11
days after it officially opened. A large crowd turned out to recognize
the start of the first smoke-free casino in the state of Oklahoma.

SouthWind Casino General Manager Pam Shaw expressed her gratitude to
the Kaw Nation and Kaw Enterprise Authority leadership for helping get
this historic facility off the ground.

On April 23, the United Indian Nations of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas
sent a letter to Gov. Mary Fallins office, asking for an explanation
by April 30 as to why she has not been participating in the tobacco
compact negotiating process and why extending ...

On March 18, 22 tribal leaders signed a letter to the governors
office, requesting current compacts be extended through August 2017.
Tobacco compacts for 28 of Oklahomas 39 federally recognized tribes
expire June 30. ...

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Battles over the regulation of tobacco products
are continuing to rage at the Oklahoma Capitol, and anti-smoking forces
plan to continue the fight after the Legislature adjourns by seeking
a statewide vote on restricting smoking in public places. Several tobacco-related
measures also have been working through the legislative process. Included
is a measure awaiting Gov. Mary Fallin's signature that would designate
all state-owned buildings and property as nonsmoking.

Searching for a way to stand out among the many tribal casinos in northern
Oklahoma, the new Kaw Nation SouthWind Casino decided not to let customers
smoke while they play the slot machines. It opened smoke-free on April
6 in a small building with 72 slots in Kaw City, about 90 miles southeast
of Wichita, and it has been receiving the thanks of grateful nonsmoking
gamblers and health organizations ever since.

Mary Fallin on extension of tribal tobacco compacts set to expire in
June. ... Potawatomi tribe in the early 1990s, in which the court ruled
that the state could not tax ... on their land, but non-Indian sales
on Indian land could be taxed by the state.

e-Cigarette Supporters Rally at the State Capitol The rally is
scheduled at the capitol Tuesday, Thousands of supporters of
electronic cigarettes plan to will meet to oppose Senate Bill 802. If
passed, the bill would add a "sin-tax" to e-cigarettes.

WEST SILOAM SPRINGS, Okla.­In one of many recent renovations inside
Cherokee Casino & Hotel West Siloam Springs, casino officials recently
opened a nearly 800 square-foot non-smoking gaming area for guests.
Just inside the main casino entrance, the non-smoking room is conveniently
located next to SEVEN and directly across from River Cane Buffet and
Flint Creek Steakhouse. We take pride in our continuous efforts
to provide the most comfortable, relaxing atmosphere at Cherokee Casino,
said Chris Province, assistant general manager of Cherokee Casino &
Hotel West Siloam Springs. The new room provides guests a smoke-free
way to play a wide variety of our most popular games. Were excited
to offer this sort of diversity. We want to please everyone who walks
through our door.

The Insurance/Ordinance committee meeting had two big ticket items at
the last meeting. The repeal of a smoking ban and a special residential
housing ordinance were highly anticipated and heavily discussed. A Pryor
city ordinance, as it stands, prohibits smoking on all public property,
which would include parks or other outdoor property owned by the city.
The Oklahoma attorney general ruled that cities cannot ban smoking in
outdoor areas they own or operate. This ruling stemmed from the fact
that Oklahoma law bans cities from enacting laws that are more strict
than the state law. It was made very clear that we need to repeal
this, said Mayor Jimmy Tramel. I tried to use Senate Bill
96 which gives cities the right to control it, but he said we need to
repeal it.

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK-- Electronic cigarette vendors and consumers gathered
for a special forum to discuss Senate Bill 802, which bans e-cigarette
sales to minors and imposes a "sin tax" on e-cigarette products.
"We feel that we are in a position to get people off of cigarettes,"
said John Durst, owner of OKC and Norman Vapes, which sells electronic
cigarettes. E-cigarette vendors like Durst argue their products can
help conventional cigarette users quit smoking since e-cigarette users
can slowly wean themselves off the use of nicotine.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Those who've kicked the habit with the help of tobacco
free electronic cigarettes say they are once again being targeted by
"big tobacco." At issue is a Bill that would turn stores that
sell E-cigarettes into conventional Cigarette venders and tax them as
such.

NORMAN ­ Norman was one of the state's first cities to ban tobacco
use in its parks. That ordinance was in jeopardy after an attorney general's
opinion. New legislation being considered at the state House may make
the citys law more workable.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) ­ Local municipalities would be able to ban smoking
on all city-owned property under a measure easily approved by the Oklahoma
Senate. The Senate on Wednesday voted 44-1 for the bill that would allow
local governments to prohibit smoking on publicly owned property, including
parks and sports complexes.

The state Senate passed a measure Wednesday that would allow cities
and counties to ban smoking on properties they own or operate. Senate
Bill 501 by Sen. Frank Simpson, R-Ardmore, heads to the House for consideration
after securing Senate approval by a ...

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A bill that would prevent youth access to electronic
cigarettes has been approved in the Senate. The Senate voted 26-15 on
Wednesday for the bill that also limits the taxes that can be levied
on the so-called "e-cigarettes."

As discussions of smoking laws continue around the state, the Kaw Nation
is taking a step forward in the casino industry by opening the states
first nonsmoking facility. ... According to Cynthia Hallett, executive
director of Americans for Nonsmokers Rights, smoke-free casinos are
needed. "Casinos

OKLAHOMA CITY - Legislation approved Wednesday by the Oklahoma Senate
would set a minimum age requirement on the purchase of e-cigarettes
and other nicotine- or tobacco-derived products. Senate Bill 802 sets
the age limit at 18, adds e-cigarettes and other similar products to
the Prevention of Youth Access to Tobacco Act and requires proof of
age in order to purchase. The legislation also includes a five-cent
tax on these devices and penalize retailers who sell them to underage
customers.

Lawton's ban on smoking in city parks will remain on the books, but
city officials question whether the provisions are enforceable. City
Council supporters were unable to muster sufficient votes Tuesday to
revoke the provisions that place city-owned parks and playgrounds in
the no-smoking category. Nor were opponents able to collect enough votes
to retain the ordinance and expand the no-smoking provision to all city-owned
properties. Council members split 4-3 both times; ordinances must receive
five affirmative votes to be approved.

The Kaw Nation is planning to open a totally smoke-free casino this
spring at its tribal headquarters in Kaw City as the state's Indian
gaming industry continues to expand. Oklahoma Indian gaming produced
nearly $3.48 billion in revenues in 2011  a 7.7 percent increase
over the previous year. ...

I understand legislators are trying to protect public health when making
laws prohibiting the uses of legal substances, and I think we all know
cigarette smoke causes cancer. However, in an attempt to protect public
health, sometimes our leaders become overly zealous to the point of
ridiculousness and unconstitutionality. It has been confirmed tobacco
is bad for everyone, so why keep it legal while wasting money and time
on restricting where and when it can be consumed?

City and state leaders say it is time to allow communities greater control
over where smoking is allowed. However would any new law be effective?
The state already allows city and county government s to ban smoking
inside public buildings and on county property. Yet we found out those
laws are rarely, if ever, enforced.

It's a sad day and time when the governor has to wire around her own
Legislature and resort to initiative petition to pursue legislation
that a majority of Oklahomans support. ... It's unfortunate that the
expense and effort of a petition drive must be ...

Implementation of smokefree environments is an evidence-based strategy
that can be used by local governments interested in addressing the impact
of tobacco on their community. Scientific evidence shows that: ï§
Smokefree policies protect nonsmokers

Smokers have rights, but secondhand smoke in public infringes on nonsmokers'
rights not to smoke and harms overall public health. Business want healthy,
productive workforces, so site selectors consider smokefree policies
when determining areas for ...

"It's time to let voters decide whether or not they want clean
air in public places like bars and restaurants. I believe the answer
will be 'yes.'" The Governor also announced the creation of a new
website, DontSmokeOnMe.com, where people can more infor

..."This is a victory for tobacco lobbyists and the tobacco industry,"
said Alex Weintz, Fallin's communications director."It's a defeat
for the state of Oklahoma and anyone who cares about improving our health."
As OKNews reports, the debate over SB 36 ...

A bill endorsed by Gov. Mary Fallin that would allow local governments
to adopt tougher smoking ordinances died in committee Monday. Opponents
argued that SB 36 would allow cities to put a burden on restaurants
that had added ventilated rooms for smokers in an effort to comply with
state smoking laws.

Even though it is better to control smoking at a local and not a state
level, we do not support strict anti-smoking regulations, especially
when they affect private businesses. A bar or restaurant should determine
whether or not it is a smoking establish

Drive to a local city park in Oklahoma, and you might see a sign letting
you know you're banned from smoking in that park. These signs are apparently
irrelevant, as are the ordinances they help enforce. An Oklahoma attorney
general opinion released Feb. 5 ruled that cities cannot ban smoking
in outdoor areas that they own or operate.

Gov. Mary Fallin used a piece of her State of the State speech to say
she supports letting cities and towns craft their own anti-smoking laws.
If a community wants to take action to improve the health of their
citizens, let's let them do it, she said. Fallin's backing may
help get this effort across the finish line. State Health Commissioner
Terry Cline has been trying for years to sway the Legislature, which
has rebuffed him for one reason or another.

This week, the Oklahoma State Alliance of YMCAs came out in support
of the legislation as did Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett. Ten cities
and towns ­ none in Cleveland County ­ have passed resolutions
in support of the changes. ...

EASTAR Health System, in an effort to provide the healthiest and safest
environment for staff, physicians, volunteers, patients, and visitors
announced that it will be converting to a tobacco-free system on March
1.

In Oklahoma, we are in the neighborhood of renegotiating the tribal
tobacco compacts with the state. ... Maybe the best solution all around
would be to strike tobacco peddling from our midst altogether. Even
now, some tribes expound the health benefits ...

In Oklahoma, we are in the neighborhood of renegotiating the tribal
tobacco compacts with the state. ... Maybe the best solution all around
would be to strike tobacco peddling from our midst altogether. Even
now, some tribes expound the health benefits

OKLAHOMA CITY - Gov. Mary Fallin rolled out details of her "Oklahoma
Plan" alternative to the federal health-care law on Monday, including
her endorsement of a plan to let cities pass smoking restrictions that
are more stringent than state law.

NORMAN ­ The Sand Springs City Council voted unanimously in favor
of a resolution calling on the Oklahoma legislature to grant municipalities
the authority to pass local smoke-free ordinances. Sand Springs became
the 10th community to pass such a resolution, joining Oklahoma City,
Seminole, Tahlequah, Muskogee, Elk City, Hulbert, Prague, Clinton and
Cordell.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2012 -- /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Oklahoma ranks
7th in the nation in funding programs to prevent kids from smoking and
help smokers quit, according to a national report released today by
a coalition of public health organizations.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Oklahoma City and Tulsa are among six of the largest
cities in the United States that have weak laws regarding secondhand
smoke in public places, according to a recent federal government report
released.

Oklahoma City and Tulsa are among six of the largest cities in the United
States that have weak laws regarding secondhand smoke in public places,
according to a recent federal government report released. Meanwhile,
30 of the 50 largest cities in the U.S. have provisions that prohibit
smoking in any indoor area, including private workplaces, restaurants
and bars, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
study released this week. "Hundreds of cities and counties have
passed their own smoke-free laws, including many communities in the
South," Dr. Tim McAfee, director of the CDC's Office on Smoking
and Health, said in a statement. "If we continue to progress as
we have since 2000, all Americans could be protected from secondhand
smoke exposure in workplaces and public places by 2020." State
and city leaders say the main reason Oklahoma City and Tulsa do not
have their own secondhand smoke ordinances is because they're not allowed
to.

Last month, members of the state Board of Health vowed to once again
make local-control legislation their top priority. Also last month,
a new website was launched detailing the tobacco industry's lobbying
efforts in Oklahoma. It already is receiving na ...

Ten people are registered with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission to lobby
for tobacco companies or trade associations. Internal company documents
reveal that at least some have been purposely overpaid to allow them
to make substantial campaign contributions

The challenge for Oklahoma lawmakers is to prepare to eventually operate
state government without tobacco revenue. Otherwise, positive changes
in Oklahomans' health status will become a budget crisis-in-waiting.

Altus City Council members unanimously voted to send a proposed tobacco-free
ordinance and employee policy to the city's Policy Committee for review
and revisions during a business meeting Tuesday. The proposal was sent
to the committee after a motion to table action was defeated by a 4-3
vote. It called for amending the city's personnel and policies procedures
manual and an amended ordinance to Altus Code 1980 to delete smoking
rooms from city buildings to make all city buildings (both owned and
leased) and grounds (parking lots and sidewalks of city facilities)
and city vehicles and equipment tobacco-free.

During the council meeting members will consider eliminating
smoking from the City Complex and other City buildings, grounds, vehicles
and equipment. This would require amending the Citys Personnel
and Policies Procedures manual and an ordinance in Altus Code 1980.
These actions are part of the process to apply to become an Oklahoma
Certified Health Communities City. That step would, in turn, enable
the City to apply for grants totaling $42,000 as part of the process.

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (KOKH/FOX) - Oklahoma is one of two states where people
can still smoke in public places, but the state department of health
wants local communities to decide on smoking bans. The state board is
partnering with the Oklahoma City and Tulsa to push a new bill in the
next legislative session.

In Oklahoma, cities cannot pass smoking laws that are stronger than
State law but the board of health wants to change that. It's behind
a push for a new bill that will allow citizens to vote and create no-smoking
ordinances in public places.

Northeast Oklahomas premier gaming and entertainment destination
is even better with the unveiling of a new expansion at Hard Rock Hotel
& Casino Tulsa. The expansion replaces a portion of the facility
lost in the 2011 blizzard and provides a two-story non-smoking gaming
and hospitality experience, with 500 additional electronic games, 15
more table games, a poker room, a media bar and a food court.

A quit-smoking strategy with the potential to save millions of
lives will be the subject of an Oklahoma legislative hearing Wednesday.
At issue will be tobacco harm reduction, which aims to reduce Oklahoma's
5,800 deaths per year due to smoking. The strategy is based on science:
smokers who have been unwilling or unable to quit can achieve nearly
all the health benefits of abstinence by switching to smoke-free cigarette
substitutes, including snus, dissolvables and electronic cigarettes.

CATOOSA ­ As he left the Go-Go's concert Thursday at the Hard Rock
Hotel & Casino Tulsa, Shawn Slaton, interim CEO of Cherokee Nation
Entertainment, reflected on the just-finished addition to the casino
floor.

The city of Hulbert board of trustees on Thursday unanimously ap- proved
an ordinance prohibiting tobacco use in the city park. Hulbert is now
qualified to apply for a Healthy Communities Incentive Grant, which
could provide as much as $10,000 to build walking trails or similar
projects. To apply for an HCI grant, three measures  the youth
access, the 24/7 clean-air and tobacco-free park ordinances  must
be established as city law, said Reaching Our Hulbert Community Director
Shasta Teague.

As returning students and OU employees put the universitys almost
two-month-old tobacco ban to its first full semester test, local businesses
might play refuge to smokers moving off campus during breaks.
Signs across campus alert visitors to the campus-wide tobacco ban that
went into ... so business hasn't really picked up, but there are more
cigarette butts on the ... in personal attacks or name-calling, posting
advertising, or straying from the ...

Starting August 1st, SOSU is tobacco free. "Students, faculty,
staff, and visitors will no longer be able to use tobacco products on
any properties that are owned on the campus premises," said, Director
of Student Health Services, April Lerling.

Cherokee Nation, Cherokee Nation Entertainment and Flintco officials
celebrated the topping out of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsas
new 10-story tower that will add 100 suites and more than 55,000 square
feet of entertainment, gaming and convention space to the resort. Topping
out ceremonies commemorate reaching the highest point of construction
on a project. The new tower will make Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tulsa the largest hotel in ... The expansion also provides options for
those seeking a non-smoking gaming and hospitality experience, with
a smoke-free casino floor and hotel rooms.

The Oklahoma County Tobacco Use Prevention Coalition has launched a
new effort to raise awareness of the dangers of using tobacco and to
encourage members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community
to take advantage of resources such as the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline.

Tobacco-using veterans living at one of the seven state-run centers
in Oklahoma will be asked to give up their habits in the near future
but likely won't be forced to leave their residences if they don't quit,
according to a letter sent on behalf of Gov. Mary Fallin to the War
Veterans Commission. Fallin spokesman Alex Weintz said several veterans
called the governor's office after they learned that all state facilities
would become tobacco-free by early August. The governor signed an executive
order Feb. 6, declaring that all state-owned properties would become
tobacco-free within six months.

One hundred and one House bills went dormant Thursday because they had
not been heard in Senate committee. Among those was House Bill 2267,
which would have allowed local governments to pass smoking ordinances
more stringent than state law, ...

By World's Editorials Writers The state House last week passed and sent
to the Senate a bill that was originally written to let local governments
ban ... It would let cities, towns and counties adopt ordinances repealing
state laws that ban smoking in government offices and other public places,
...

Thursdays passage of HB 2267, giving Oklahoma communities the
right to pass tobacco restrictions that are more strict than those imposed
by the state, is a big step forward for clean-air advocates. . . .

The House approved a bill Thursday that would allow local governments
to ban smoking in public places, despite the addition of two amendments
that were intended to derail the measure. A floor amendment added to
the bill would give cities, towns and counties the power to pass ordinances
repealing state laws that ban smoking in such places as museums and
government office buildings. This is the ultimate local control,
said Rep. David Derby, R-Owasso, the amendment's author. Another amendment
would prohibit local governments from passing laws to prohibit smoking
in private dining and social clubs. Rep. Ron Peters, R-Tulsa, the amendment's
author, said the measure also would exempt country clubs.

Oklahoma is one of just two states that do not allow municipalities
to regulate smoking. The Legislature must ignore the tobacco lobby,
repeal the statute, and allow Oklahoma cities to draft no-smoking ordinances
as they see fit.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health is offering a rebate incentive
to restaurants that previously constructed smoking rooms  if they
voluntarily convert their facilities to become smoke-free. However,
its unclear how many of the already-small percentage of Oklahoma
restaurants with smoking rooms will take the agency up on its offer.
...

The proposed ordinance on tobacco will declare all city property tobacco
free. Use of tobacco on city property shall be prohibited if the ordinance
is passed. Additionally, no person will be allowed to use tobacco in
any city vehicle. ...

Ray also said the ordinance should have disallowed smoking within 25
feet of the entrance of a city-owned building. When people are
outside smoking, you have to walk through that smoke to get in the building,
he said. The ordinance on junk and ...

There has been much debate over HB 2135 (the proposed bill to overturn
tobacco preemption) which if successful, will remove requirements that
cities shall not enact more stringent regulations than state law related
to tobacco use. Preemption, as both the tobacco industry and local control
advocates know, removes a communitys right to enact local laws,
in this case, smoke free air laws. It wipes out local control, taking
power away from local governments and more importantly, the people to
enact policies to protect the health and safety of their community.

The tobacco industry has worked tirelessly to undercut consequential
local smoke free air laws because their power base is strongest at the
state level and they are keenly aware that the only business harmed
by these public health measures is their own. The industry also knows
that preemptive laws can work in their favor to stop or diffuse tobacco
control efforts throughout the state. If preemption was such a positive
public health measure you would not see local control or public health
advocates working so hard to overturn it, or consequentially, the tobacco
industry working so hard to keep preemption laws intact.

Local control of health and public health issues has numerous benefits
that are lost when local power is preempted. As Howard Koh, Assistant
Secretary for Health in the US Department of Health and Human Services
has said: all public health is local - its got to start
and be sustained at the local level. Local controls provide for
greater accountability because local legislators and political decision
makers interact with their constituents on a daily basis, they may have
developed personal relationships over time that makes it easier to have
the difficult discussions regarding community issues. Local policy makers
can craft laws addressing the unique needs of their communities, which
fosters community first initiatives and allows diverse communities to
adopt appropriate protections for themselves rather than a one size
fits all model that doesn't protect the public's health ...

Health and business leaders are pushing for a bill that would give
cities and towns the ability to impose anti-smoking ordinances that
are tougher than current state law.

State and local Chamber of Commerce officials and Oklahoma Commissioner
of Health Terry Cline will hold a press conference at the state Capitol
on Tuesday to endorse the bill by House Speaker Kris Steele ...

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) ­ Oklahoma House Speaker Kris Steele wants to
let cities and towns pass anti-smoking ordinances that are stricter
than those mandated by state law. Health and business leaders are set
to hold a news conference today at the state ...

House Bill 2135 would allow local communities the right to set local
smoking regulations. The state of Oklahoma already grants communities
similar power when it comes to setting social host ordinances
regarding alcoholic beverages, and Oklahoma is ...

An Oklahoma House committee approves a bill that would give local governments
the power to ban smoking in public places. The measure now goes to the
full House. BY MICHAEL MCNUTT Leave a comment Local governments in Oklahoma
would have the power to ban ...

The Oklahoma Municipal League asked this week for legislation that
would allow cities and towns to set their own smoking bans, and theres
little reason to think the effort will get scuttled during the 2011
session. Momentum for this change is strong and has been building for
some time.
Advertisement

Health officials citing the dangers of secondhand smoke have long sought
to make all restaurants in Oklahoma smoke free, even those that followed
the law and invested in ventilation systems allowing for smoking and
nonsmoking areas. A poll in March of this year showed 71 percent of
Oklahomans favor eliminating all indoor smoking in public places, and
more than half favor a statewide smoke-free law. There have at times
been efforts to ban smoking in all public places, indoors or out.

Oklahoma is one of two states with pre-emption laws regarding tobacco
 where state tobacco law supersedes local laws. This means municipalities
may not enact anti-smoking laws that are tougher than whats on
the books at the state level. ...

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)  Local governments in Oklahoma could soon
have the power to ban smoking in public places under a plan legislators
and health groups will announce tomorrow.

The plan calls for the repeal of state laws preventing cities and towns
from enacting tobacco use restrictions stricter than the states.
Oklahoma is one of only two states with these so-called pre-emption
laws. House Speaker-elect Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, said he plans to file
legislation allowing cities to decide whether to ban smoking in public
places, such as bars.

I am a proponent of local control, Steele said. We
have a high prevalence of tobacco use in the state of Oklahoma, and
it causes many health issues.

Several groups who favor the repeal of pre-emption laws on tobacco
restrictions will announce the plan tomorrow at the Oklahoma Municipal
League, which supports the idea.

A majority of states have banned smoking in most public places, as
have hundreds of cities nationwide.

I absolutely support individual rights, but on this issue, were
talking about having local communities make decisions that they feel
like will be in the best interest of their residents on tobacco policies,
Steele said.

Previous efforts to ban smoking statewide have failed. Sen. David Myers,
R-Ponca City, wrote some of the failed legislation and said earlier
this month that giving cities the option to regulate smoking stands
a better chance at passing the Legislature than an all-out smoking ban
...

More money for transit and the relocation of Interstate 40, curbing
sales tax exemptions and giving cities the right to pass smoking ordinances
are among Oklahoma City's legislative priorities.
Advertisement

The city council unanimously approved a list of state and federal legislative
priorities Tuesday. ...

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Cities and towns in Oklahoma would be allowed to approve
anti-smoking laws that are stricter than state law under a proposal
by state health officials, said the Associated Press. Tulsa-based QuikTrip
Corp. is among the opponent of the plan.

Current law prohibits cities and towns from passing laws against smoking
in public places that would be more strict than state law.

The proposal adopted Tuesday by the Oklahoma State Board of Health
and health departments in Tulsa and Oklahoma City calls for eliminating
that prohibition ...

Cities and towns in Oklahoma would be allowed to approve anti-smoking
laws that are stricter than state law under a proposal by state health
officials.

Current law prohibits cities and towns from passing laws against smoking
in public places that would be more strict than state law.

The proposal adopted Tuesday by the Oklahoma State Board of Health
and health departments in Tulsa and Oklahoma City calls for eliminating
that prohibition.

One example is a current state law that allows some restaurants to
allow smoking if they have a separately ventilated room. If the law
were repealed, local ordinances could essentially be approved that would
ban all smoking in restaurants.

Tulsa County commissioners voted 2-1 Tuesday to approve a resolution
making nearly all county facilities and vehicles tobacco-free.

The resolution pertains only to those buildings administered by the
Board of County Commissioners. The Tulsa Jail and Expo Square, for example,
are run by authorities and would not be affected by the resolution.

Commissioners agreed to allow residents of the Tulsa County Emergency
Shelter, at Charles Page Boulevard and Gilcrease Museum Road, to continue
to use the facility's smoking room.

Currently, smoking is prohibited in most county buildings and all vehicles
under the commissioners' purview. Designated smoking areas have been
created for those buildings, including the homeless shelter. ...

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma restaurants that created separately ventilated
smoking rooms would get a rebate to convert them to smoke-free under
a bill Gov. Brad Henry plans to sign into law.

Henry scheduled a bill signing ceremony Friday for the Clean Air in
Restaurants Act.

The voluntary program authorizes the State Department of Health to
implement the rebate program. It would allow restaurants to recover
50 percent of the original expenditure, minus depreciation costs, if
it converts to a smoke-free restaurant by January 2013.

The bill directs the Health Department to fund the program using a
fund that includes money from the state's tobacco tax. ...

A bill offering rebates to restaurants that voluntarily create smoke-free
environments is on its way to the governor's desk. Representative Kris
Steele says implementing the program would fall to the State Health
Department, which would also be allowed to establish health and wellness
programs in communities and schools. Steele is quick to point out the
bill has no mandates.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Legislation to make Oklahoma a healthier state through
local efforts promoting personal responsibility is one step away from
becoming law.

House Bill 2774, by Rep. Kris Steele, authorizes the State Department
of Health to implement a rebate program to reimburse restaurant owners
for a portion of the expenses incurred in complying with statutory requirements
for constructing a designated smoking room if the restaurant converts
to a completely smoke-free environment.

The measure also allows the State Department of Health to establish
programs for the voluntary certification of communities and schools
that promote wellness and health.

"This is a purely voluntary program that will help encourage restaurants
to go completely smoke-free," said Steele, R-Shawnee. "This
legislation is designed to help our communities and schools become healthier
by promoting awareness and personal responsibility. There are no mandates
in this bill, but instead options, opportunities and incentives to encourage
healthy behavior." ...

Musicians for Smoke-free Oklahoma is a group formed to help
protect musicians and music lovers in Oklahoma who want clubs, bars,
music and entertainment venues to become 100% smokefree. Enjoy! You
can check them out at http://breathethemusic.com/.
Be sure to check out the use of video clips showing supportive music
venue owners.

In 2003, Oklahoma legislators passed a law banning smoking in restaurants
unless the owner built a separate ventilated room for smokers.

Tuesday, the Oklahoma Senate voted 38-8 for the Clean Air in Restaurants
Act, which would pay restaurants half of what it cost them to build
the room if they remove it and go smoke-free by January 2013. ...

... That meeting is also expected to be the time the council takes
action on an ordinance prohibiting smoking in city-owned parks and recreation
areas. Val Dobbins, appearing with the group Students Working Against
Tobacco, told the mayor the proposed ordinance should prohibit all tobacco
products in those locations.

The proposed ordinance calls for a fine of $10 to $100 for those who
violate the ordinance.

TAHLEQUAH  Tahlequah city councilors could get their first look
in two weeks at a proposed ordinance to prohibit smoking in city parks.

A large student contingent presented a proposal to city councilors
Monday, asking them to consider the measure. Owasso, Norman and Noble
already have such ordinances, the group said.

The presentation was made by several students while the council and
members of the audience looked at a plastic container holding nearly
5,000 cigarette butts, which were picked up off of park grounds in one
day recently. ...

American Indians smoked tobacco for religious and medicinal uses in
1 B.C., and presented Christopher Columbus with tobacco leaves in 1492.
But today, the state's tribes are working with Oklahoma to stop smoking.

Rep. Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, said he and Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill
Anoatubby hope the tribe's new nonsmoking policy will be a model for
other tribes throughout Oklahoma.

In February, the Chickasaw Nation banned smoking in all restaurants,
food courts and event centers on Chickasaw Nation-owned properties.
The reaction to the smoke-free environment in restaurants has been positive,
Bill Lance, Chickasaw Nation division of commerce administrator, said
in a statement.

"While it is not feasible to prohibit smoking in all of our commercial
facilities, we are taking measures to minimize the impact of second-hand
smoke," he said.

The tribe didn't confirm whether the ban would extend to Chickasaw
casino restaurants, but Steele said he doesn't anticipate that it would
include casinos or their restaurants. ...

OKLAHOMA CITY - Supporters of further limits on smoking in public have
relaased anew poll indicating most Oklahomans favor banning smoking
in bars and restaurants.

The poll commissioned by the Smoke Free Oklahoma coalition found 71
percent of Oklahomans favor eliminating indoor smoking in public places.
It also found 94 percent of Oklahoma voters believe secondhand smoke
is a health hazard.

Legislation to tighten smoking restrictions and eliminate smoking in
bars and restaurants has died in the state Legislature this year.

Marilyn Davidson of the American Heart Association says the poll shows
lawmakers that their constituents favor banning indoor smoking.

The poll was performed in late February by SoonerPoll.com and surveyed
1,000 likely voters registered in the state. It has a margin of error
of plus or minus 3.1 percent. ...

In 2003, an Oklahoma law was passed banning smoking in restaurants
unless the owner provided a separate ventilated room with bathrooms.
This week, Oklahoma lawmakers proposed a bill that would offer incentives
to owners if they voluntarily eliminate those rooms.

State leaders say the incentives could be as much as 50 percent of
what it cost them to build the smoke rooms.

Experts estimate about 120 business owners built a smoking room and
if they were all reimbursed it would cost the state an estimated $300,000.

Some Altus High School students are working to get smoking in public
parks banned.

Students Working Against Tobacco is a nationwide group with a chapter
in Altus. The group gets grants in return for coming up with programs
to help stamp out smoking, especially among minors. This year they plan
to present their idea to the Altus City Council in hopes they will pass
an ordinance banning smoking in parks.

The students in the group say they noticed many kids use the park as
a place to smoke and they say all the cigarette butts on the ground
were just making the problem worse. ...

New research by the Oklahoma Tobacco Research Center (OTRC) shows that
concentrations of secondhand tobacco smoke inhaled in smoking rooms
of restaurants and bars are exceptionally high and hazardous to health.

According to the study, which appears in the center's new report "Tobacco
Smoke Pollution in Oklahoma Workplaces," the average particulate
level measured in restaurant smoking rooms was beyond the hazardous
extreme based on levels established by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency. The level found in bars was even worse.

"These levels are exceptionally high and not healthy for the employees
and patrons exposed to particles found in secondhand smoke," said
Heather Basara, M.D., an industrial hygienist and lead investigator
on the research. ...

Conclusions
Smoking inside certain types of public places and workplaces, allowed
under current state laws in Oklahoma, creates unhealthy to hazardous
environments in those places.
 Restaurants that are entirely nonsmoking have moderate levels
of PM2.5 material in the air.
 Nonsmoking dining areas of restaurants with smoking rooms have
three times as much PM2.5 as entirely nonsmoking restaurants, averaging
in the range considered unhealthy by the EPA based on particulate
concentration.
 Smoking rooms in restaurants averaged 1.5 times the hazardous
level established by the EPA for particulate concentrations.
 Bars averaged 2.6 times the hazardous level established
by the EPA for particulate concentrations. ...

EDMOND  An ordinance prohibiting smoking on all city park playgrounds
was approved 4-1 Monday evening by the Edmond City Council.

The Edmond Parks and Recreation Advisory Board had promoted the issue
since last summer.

The ordinance does not ban smoking in city parks. No smoking
signs will be placed within 50 feet of playgrounds, said Jim Bowlin,
director of Parks and Recreation. These signs would be provided at no
charge to the city by the Oklahoma City-County Health Department. Smoking
would be prohibited in the confines of fenced areas at ball fields,
Bowlin added. ...

Regarding "Activists target smoking loopholes" (news story,
Oct. 30): Oklahoma bar and restaurant owners act as if our state would
be the first and only one to go smoke-free in public venues. Far from
it. If Jim Hopper, president of the Oklahoma Restaurant Association,
wants to eliminate his members' concerns about losing business if a
smoking ban is enacted, he should contact any other restaurant association
president in a state with a similar ban. He'd learn that profits at
a majority of restaurants have actually increased.

The New York Times archives include articles printed before New York
City's ban was enacted. Get the names of all the interviewed restaurant
owners who were worried about their restaurant's potential profit losses.
Call those same owners today and ask them how their profits are doing
since the ban. Do your homework. And when your post-ban profits increase,
remember to thank the groups that pushed for the ban. ...

Oklahoma City - Oklahoma health officials say they will try again next
year to pass legislation to ban smoking in bars and restaurants.

Representatives of the American Heart Association and the state Department
of Health announced their plans Thursday. The legislation will be similar
to a bill that died in the Oklahoma House last spring. ...

Earlier this year, the City of Norman made a decision to ban smoking
at area parks. Now another city is considering the same thing. Edmond's
Parks and Recreation Department is working to draft an ordinance which
would ban smoking at local sports fields and near the children's play
areas at local parks.

Jim Bowlin, Director of Parks and Recreation in Edmond, says, "We'd
like to create a more healthy environment for our citizens and set a
better example for our youth."

A new law could mean the end of smoking within public housing in Stillwater.

Congress passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
earlier this year, and President Barack Obama signed the bill this summer.

Stillwater Public Housing Authority Executive Director L. Glen Redding
said he will draft a revised policy for review and vote by the authority
no later than February. The updated policy could go into affect as early
as March, he said.

The authority has banned smoking in public housing common areas since
1985, he said, and this proposal would extend the ban to individual
homes. ...

As part of its ongoing initiative of improving campus health, St. Gregorys
University has announced it is going tobacco free at its
three campus locations. The change will take place on Saturday, and
under the new policy, tobacco use of any kind will be prohibited anywhere
on campus, indoors and out.

SGU joins a list of approximately 160 colleges and universities nationwide
that prohibit smoking and all forms of tobacco use everywhere on campus
(no designated smoking areas), according to the American Lung Association.
...

OKLAHOMA CITY -- State officials are asking Oklahoma residents, who
have one of the highest smoking rates in the country, to join them in
an ambitious goal to reduce tobacco use to below the national average
by 2012.

Achieving that goal would result in 200,000 fewer adult and youth tobacco
users in the state, officials said Tuesday.

The plan urges Oklahomans to make their homes and vehicles smoke-free
and support policies to promote smoking cessation. ...

Laura Clay says she was being poisoned by a neighbor's cigarette smoke.

Clay, 31, of Norman, said she started complaining to her landlord about
the smoke coming in the vents of her apartment a short time after moving
there in 2007. When her 8-year-old daughter's asthma worsened and her
son was born prematurely in summer 2008, Clay quit asking and started
demanding that something be done.

"They told me there was nothing they could do," Clay said,
"that my neighbors had every right to smoke in their apartment.
But we couldn't breathe." . . .

Then she started calling around for advice.

She reached Doug Matheny, tobacco use prevention chief for the state
Health Department. He said secondhand smoke exposure in multi-unit housing
like apartment complexes is an issue he regularly gets calls about.

Municipalities and counties across the country, including areas in
Washington, California and Minnesota, have already banned or restricted
smoking in multi-unit or public housing.

Matheny said Oklahoma isn't looking at policy options, but officials
want to educate people about the health risks.

Percy Brown, project coordinator for the Tobacco Free Zone program,
is working on a research project examining smoking trends in three of
the Tulsa Housing Authority's 14 communities. ...

Intro:
Efforts to ban all smoking in restaurants and other public places appeared
dead Thursday, but the bill's author says the issue is bound to return
for consideration in some future year.

"It's going to happen," said Senate author David Myers, R-Ponca
City.
Currently, restaurants are allowed to have separately ventilated smoking
rooms that are segregated from other customers. In 2003, regulations
went into effect creating the separate rooms.

Myers said only about 120 of the 7,000 restaurants in the state still
have the special rooms.

The issue was referred Thursday to an eight-member task force comprised
of House and Senate representatives along with others concerned, like
the state health department, associations dealing with cancer and lung
problems and also bar and restaurant representatives.

Tonight were experiencing a clash of individual rights: the right
to smoke and the right to breathe clean air. In Oklahoma, there is new
debate over whether to expand the ban on smoking in all indoor public
places and workplaces. FOX 23s Kaci Christian has the latest on
this. Opinions are strongly divided

During the last legislative session, Myers' Senate Bill 1875 -- which
would have wiped out smoking in all restaurants, taverns, bars and hotels
-- had too few votes to pass.

Myers said the time frame of his current legislation would allow restaurant
owners who built the rooms in response to a 2003 law to depreciate the
costs.
He said he is willing to negotiate on the date.

A report released Tuesday by the Oklahoma State Department of Health
shows that a law restricting smoking in public places has not had an
adverse impact on the restaurant industry.

In 2006, restaurants had to create separately ventilated and enclosed
rooms if they wanted to allow smoking. The law also puts restrictions
on smoking in public places.
According to the report, only 1 percent to 2 percent of the restaurants
in the state opted for the separate rooms.

Legislation introduced last session would have wiped out the separate
smoking rooms. It died, with opponents saying they didnt want
to hurt businesses that spent resources to build the rooms as a result
of the law.

Public health advocates are expected to look to the Legislature to
support laws closing the loopholes that allow smoking in certain indoor
workplaces and public places, said Bob Miner, Oklahoma State Department
of Health clean indoor air coordinator.

Longtime Oklahoma City restaurateur Don Coit says he wasted
$65,000 building separate rooms to accommodate smokers at his three Coit's eateries.

Coit, who specializes in root beer, urged restaurant owners and operators
Wednesday not to make the same financial blunder -- and to go smoke-free immediately.

He and other anti-tobacco advocates kicked off a campaign addressing a key aspect
of a state law restricting smoking in public places and work environments.

The law goes into effect Monday, but restaurants have until March 1, 2006, to
fully comply with the law designed to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke. . .

"We
tried all different smoking policies. A year ago, we built separately ventilated
rooms for smokers, but they were hardly used, so we went smoke-free and it's working
out great," Don Coit said. "We should have gone smoke-free in the first
place."